Opinion: Hawking’s Moral Black Hole

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'm Mary Kissel ... the Cambridge University theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking ... pulled out of a conference in Israel in protest ... over that country's treatment of Palestinians was on the back and forth first he was in ... many was out now he's definitely out so what's going on here ... assistant books editor so ever Mari is here so I'm just in general question ... what do we care what Stephen Hawking doesn't when he thinks of Israel ... we should ... I he is one of the symptoms of our days were We fetish I Sciences just because ... I'm you know hockey has come up with fascinating and insightful theories ... about the non of them in the space time and and and black holes ... doesn't mean that his views on moral and political issues ... should be definitive ... in yet we've we've put scientists on on on a pedestal this plan and and ... it just because he's anti Israel are therefore he must be right because he has he has ... been a brilliant insights into ... the law calls well like it or not though that we do pay attention to what the lady says and says hey what's his history ... in the Middle East has he ... done this other countries to resist a specific to Israel election to the hypocrisy and double standards in this are astounding ... he is now hawking actually travel to Iran and in in two thousandseven to great fanfare from this the state run media that ... the great scientists is visited and he was a ten day visit according to press TV which is ... the Iranian ... regime or again ... and that not a peep about ... about Iran's human rights issues he didn't boycott of the Iranian regime where where there's a there's no such thing as academic freedom for academics are regularly thrown in jail ... on Sunday Funding Christina still tied to a very oppressive regime right and he's also been to China another country where you've is no such thing as academic freedom over there ... but Israel the one stay in the in the region where there is a vibrant academic life winners academics on the state payroll ... who basically think the station exist and yet they continue to have tenure ... that's the country you boycott the it there's another aspect of this it seems really odd to me and ... you know as an academic approach a prominent one should new welcome ... it opened in Koreans you know and and and and and serve ... go to Israel the sea with its all about and what is he was he gained from doing this has deeply it's right ... I mean there was an opportunity from a few key things he he ... he has criticisms of of Israeli policy ... policies in the Palestinian territories ... there's a setting where you know he was invited by Shimon Peres the president is famous the end of ... and you could've had a head and I love with with has about about ... about the issue but ... this pleases foreclosed today ... and the you know it is or was gonna go on being a ... vibrant ... economy does really well compared to its neighbors ... and by the way it actually produces the chips that allow Stephen Hawking to communicate with the rest the world of the with ... the chip that allows them to to to to speak of this but it is the isthe used his condition is produced by Intel which is prime year which makes ... most of its cutting edge ... computer chips ... the interstates I think I mean if you were to be ... be doing this and really to face meeting he might do away with the chip as well ...